Colin Kaepernick is one of the most divisive athletes in America.
That’s true even in the NFL.
And this former NFL star called out Colin Kaepernick for one surprising reason.
Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant called out Colin Kaepernick for not having a plan to leverage the anti-national anthem protest he started back in 2016.
“I respect Colin Kaepernick, but it’s one thing that I don’t respect and I said when I get the opportunity to get on the stage and say it, I would say it and I love him to death, it ain’t no hate or nothing like that,” Bryant said in an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast.
Bryant criticized Kaepernick for not doing more to help people who supported Kaepernick’s protest and lost their jobs as a result.
“But brother, you had the biggest opportunity in the world to create jobs, to build jobs, to give jobs to people. The people you were talking about. The people that you were so-called ‘standing up for.’ People who stood beside you, people who lost their jobs because of you. Where you at? I ain’t heard from you. He brought the awareness and that’s why I respect him,” Bryant added.
Bryant agreed with co-host and former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall that Kaepernick never put in place a “call to action.”
“There wasn’t one, there wasn’t no call to action,” Bryant added.
It’s rare to hear athletes criticize Kaepernick.
There are many who oppose kneeling for the national anthem but do not say so out of fear of the inevitable media backlash.
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees had to apologize repeatedly for saying he would never kneel for the national anthem out of respect for his grandfather’s military service following the death of George Floyd.
But Dez Bryant’s career is over.
And Bryant has nothing to fear from the rabidly pro-Kaepernick sports media or woke online rage mobs.
Which is probably why he felt free to call out Kaepernick for his self-serving protest.
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
